Google's FAQ & How-To Update: The Potential Impact and Next Steps

As you probably already know, Google had a pretty significant broad-core update to its algorithm back in March 2023. Well, Google is at it again! 

Google announced significant changes to the way some SEO-rich results are displayed in its search results. And it’s rocking the SEO world. Specifically, Google is reducing the visibility of FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) rich results and limiting How-To rich results to desktop devices. 

Many marketers, like myself, are wondering if this update is going to be a small impact or change the landscape of SEO and content strategies as we know them today. The update is set to roll out globally over the next week or so. The goal is to refine the search results users receive while maintaining the integrity of the information presented.

Snapshot of the Changes

So let’s break down what this means for marketers. These changes are centered around the use of FAQ and How-To structured content, which we are all using, and affect the display of rich results in Google's search results.

1. FAQ-Rich Results: Going forward, Google will only display FAQ-rich results for well-known and authoritative government and health websites. Other websites, probably like yours, may not regularly show up when someone searches FAQ-type content. But, what if your website doesn’t publish content about government and health? It still affects your display in search results. While it's not necessary to remove FAQ content, its absence won't negatively impact your site's performance on Google Search. Meaning it shouldn’t affect your FAQs search results on mobile devices. On the contrary, it could hurt your website’s visibility on mobile devices. 
2. How-To Rich Results: On the flip side, How-To rich results, derived from HowTo structured content, will now only be visible to desktop users and won't appear on mobile devices. Which could create a problem for a lot of SEO strategies. We all know that Google doesn’t like sites that aren’t mobile-friendly. Google's indexing is primarily based on a website's mobile version, so to ensure that How-To rich results are displayed on the desktop. So, make sure the mobile version of the website has the appropriate markup.

Changes to Search Console Reporting

These changes will also be rolling out in the Search Console for website owners. Metrics related to FAQ and How-To search queries in the performance report you’re used to seeing will be adjusted. To align with these changes, the number of impressions reported in the relevant enhancement reports will also reflect the modified visibility of these rich results. In other words, this is going to switch up your reporting entirely. 

On the bright side, the number of items reported in the enhancement reports will remain unchanged. So, the search appearances and reports will continue to be available in Search Console for the foreseeable future. But who knows, Google may decide to switch things up on us again. I’m interested in seeing how these updates will affect other SEO tools, such as SEMrush, Moz, and others. 

Google’s Global Rollout 

This update will be implemented globally, in all languages and countries, over the following week. So, no one has to feel left out. Keep in mind, it’s important to understand that this update isn't a ranking change and will not be listed in Google's Search status dashboard. However, some users might experience a brief delay in seeing these changes due to a small holdback experiment that Google is conducting.

The Potential Impact on Websites

There are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to how this update will affect marketers’ SEO strategies. However, there are several potential impacts on your SEO reports due to the recent Google search update. Here are some of the key impacts they might face:

1. Changes in Search Visibility: If your SEO strategy has relied heavily on FAQ and HowTo-rich results for visibility, you may experience a decrease in search visibility. Thus, a decrease in CTR and rankings. The reduction in visibility of FAQ-rich results and the limitation of HowTo-rich results to desktop devices means your SEO strategy has to be reevaluated. If you wish to maintain your search presence, marketers should take the time to review their content mapping and overall SEO strategy.
2. Impact on Click-Through Rates (CTR): We all know that CTR is one of the most important metrics for a website. The change in how rich results are displayed could impact your CTR. You may be used to getting an above-average CTR on FAQ and HowTo-rich results, but that’s a thing of the past. If these results become less prominent, marketers might see changes in the click-through rates for those pages.
3. Mobile vs. Desktop Strategies: In the past, the biggest concern about mobile search was ensuring your site was mobile-friendly. However, that is no longer the case. Marketers will need to adjust their strategies based on the distinction between mobile and desktop results. Thus, requiring you to optimize both versions of your site for different types of rich results. No rest for the weary. While HowTo rich results are limited to desktop users, mobile versions of websites still play a crucial role in indexing. So don’t sleep on how user-friendly your site is on a phone. This might require businesses to.
4. Impact on Click Behavior: Marketers could witness changes in user click behavior due to the alteration in result visibility. It’s unclear exactly how this will play out yet but users might explore different types of search results.  Thus, leading to a shift in traffic patterns, engagement levels, and overall user behavior.

Next Steps for Your SEO Strategy

With this latest update, marketers and creators are going to have to rethink the way they do SEO. But that doesn’t mean that you need to scrap all of your FAQ and How-To content. Here are some content ideas to explore in light of Google's recent search update regarding changes to HowTo and FAQ-rich results:

1. Revisiting Content Strategy: Balancing Text and Visual Content: Given the evolving rich result landscape, marketers can write about the importance of balancing text-based content with visually engaging elements, such as images, diagrams, infographics, and videos, to appeal to both search engines and users.
2. Adapting Your SEO Strategy for FAQ Rich Results Changes: Marketers should keep their FAQ pages because the update targets desktop FAQ searches. With 63% of organic search visits coming from mobile devices, it means this content can still be key to your mobile-friendly SEO strategy. However, the visibility of FAQ-rich results might impact their website's overall website traffic. So, you should consider alternatives to FAQ structured content, such as optimizing content for featured snippets or other rich result types.
3. Leveraging How-To Rich Results for Desktop Users: Since HowTo-rich results will now be limited to desktop users only, creators will have to rethink their overall SEO strategy. While the majority of search queries are on mobile devices, desktop devices still account for 46.51% of the total web traffic and should not be underestimated. Optimizing your website for this particular result type will still bring a lot of traffic to your site. So, don’t forget to ensure your desktop versions of the site are properly marked up.
4. User-Centric FAQ and How-To Content Creation: Since the update aims to enhance user experience, Marketers can provide insights into creating FAQ and How-To content that directly addresses user queries and pain points. This approach can foster trust, engagement, and improved search visibility.

By focusing on these content ideas, marketers can not only educate themselves about the changes in search results but also provide valuable insights and guidance to their audience, positioning themselves as experts in their field.

Wrapping Things Up

In essence, while the changes to HowTo and FAQ-rich results can pose challenges for marketers, they also present opportunities to adapt, optimize, and improve your overall search strategies. By staying informed and proactively adjusting their approaches, which you should be doing anyways, marketers can navigate these changes effectively and continue to deliver valuable content to their audience.

#seo #googleupdates #seostrategy #marketing